Prime Minister, Dr. The Hon. Hubert Minnis, addressed the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) Board of Directors and Membership Meeting at the British Colonial Hilton on Thursday, June 15, 2017.

The BHTA saw record attendance at the June meeting, as over 180 members from Andros, Abaco, Berry Islands, Cat Island, Eleuthera, Exuma, Grand Bahama and Nassau, Paradise Island gathered to hear Prime Minister Minnis speak.

Representatives at the meeting included government officials and a cadre of private sector stakeholders from varying sectors of industry. Business owners and operators, senior executives and entrepreneurs, spanning the gamut of enterprises in the Bahamas attended the meeting. Hotel properties, large and small; destination management companies, service providers, communication companies, public relations and accounting firms, spas, food and liquor wholesalers, attractions, insurance companies and educators congregated in anticipation of the Prime Ministers address.

“The sheer number of people who came out to hear the Prime Minister speak about the government’s plans and strategies to build a robust tourism economy was telling” stated Carlton Russell, President of the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association, “what was most significant, however, was the vast range of diverse tourism stakeholders gathered in the room that day. It shows how our tourism industry impacts virtually every sector of our economy. The adage, “Tourism is everybody’s business”, could not have been better showcased”.

The Prime Minister spoke of his Administration’s plans to introduce a number of initiatives geared towards diversifying the nation’s tourism product and increasing the country’s bottom line. His address spoke of re-energizing Nassau and stimulating Grand Bahama’s tourism economy through a “workable plan” which included “positioning Freeport and the district of Lucaya as a maritime sports and wellness destination; East Grand Bahama as an eco-tourism mecca and West Grand Bahama as a site for culture.”

The near thirty minute address incorporated a number of strategies including “an incentive framework for entrepreneurs which would faciliate local and international access to capital, encourage joint ventures among private interest, facilitate improvement of business advisory and encourage the cultivation of tools to stimulate Bahamian entrepenuership in Tourism”; a plan to build a native food market Over The Hill and a plan to refurbish Festival Place. The Minnis Administration will also build a Native Food Market Over-the-Hill that will feature Bahamian art and is expected to be a “major economic empowerment and revitalization project. The Minnis Administration will also build a Native Food Market Over-the-Hill that will feature Bahamian art and is expected to be a “major economic empowerment and revitalization projectThe Minnis Administration will also build a Native Food Market Over-the-Hill that will feature Bahamian art and is expected to be a “major economic empowerment and revitalization project

The Prime Minister’s address was well received by BHTA Senior Executives, members and industry stakeholders. The Presidents Report, given moments earlier by Carlton Russell reflected similar sentiments; and elucidated aligned strategies to further develop, diversify and strengthen the tourism industry.